Post



E. M. SPARKS Feb. 14, 1928.

POST

Filed June 14, 1927 IN VEN TOR. EL [A5 M. p/QFKS l BY www12/ways.

mmf/S5515 Patentedv Feb. 14, `1928.

EIiIA's'M. snniis, or!" IGA, roiivn.

` Postr.

- Appncanonfiiea time 14, 1927. serarNo. 198,861.

yThis invention relates to improvements in the construction of posts as for example' likewise they soon become discolore'd when expose'dto theelenients'. Thereforethe present invention has-:as one of its objects to provide a post which Will be more durable than a yWooden post' and Which will presenta neater andl more attractive appearance. A

Another object of they invention is to provide'a post ot composite structure and con-r sistingof a core o Wood and a. sheath of metal', and' Whichpost will therefore possess alllotthe desirable qualities and the ad.- vantages ot both a Woodf post and a metal post, theconstruction being such that"y fenceVV Wires, signs, mail boxes, Yandthe like, may be secure'dto the post with the same facility as to an ordinary Wooden postV and by. the use oit' ordinary fastening means suoli as nails, screws, or bolts, and will be more4 securely anchoredgthan when secured directly to a wooden'post. In this respect the invention distinguishes over a'inetal' post in that, in connection'with such a post, in mounting wires, signs, or mailboxes thereon, it is necessary to employ specially designedattachinglor 'fastening means or tov drill holes throiigh the post to accommodate.securing bolts'. y. e

Another object of the invention is tov so construct the post embodying they invention that the wood core thereof Will be eliectu'ally protected from the elements by thef sheath of the post and yet with the provision of means whereby securing ,elements may vbe readily driven into the core for thelpurpose of securing fence Wires,signs, mailboxesyor any othe-robjeets, t'o the post bythe use Vof the common types "of securing devices.

Another object ot the invention" is to pro vide a post of compositeV construction and embodying a core Land a' slieath,'the con:- struction andl arrangement of the component parts of the postY being such'that tence Wires anchoredtof the post Will be securely held nsty longitudinal displacement so j', Athat yit tlie `wr1es are properly stretched at` the time they are'strung, there can be no sagging ofl the LWires y nor any loosening 'of Wires' between adjacentfposts in the yevent of breakageotvany one ot the Wires.r

Another object ot the inventionjis to so construct the postthat the core thereof may he, readily replaced Whenv occasioni requires', although the construction is suchfthatthe core .will be el'ectually protectedfrom lthe elementsy and thereiore` be exceptionally durable. V

f Iii-order to preserve Woo-d posts itis custoinary to impregnate' the `same with cre'osote or some other agent to,v prevent. deterioration or rotting of the posts,but where theposts Vare continuously and completely exposedto the elements; the -impregnating ymedium soon loses its strength and etciency' and turtherinore the treated surface of the post is exposed to contact bythe clot-hing "of one approaching ther post.` Therefore the pres1v entinvention hasv as a further-object to so construct the post that `the wood` core-there off` may beimpregnated With a-'preservative iiuid such as creosote and substantially the entiresurtaceof' the core shielded from vthe elements so that the preservative will retain itsy strengthtor an vindelinite period of time thus greatly prolonging the lifeoiz the post as awhole. Y

While the accompanying vdrawings and? the description Whichis to follow, constitutel a disclosure of the preilerredembodimentot 'the invention, it will be understood that variousl changes may be made Within the scopeot what is claimed.. e Y

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l isa front elevationl of a post con- -structed 'inaccordance with the present invention, the `post* illustrated' in ,the said" igure being employed inA supporting fence Wires; ,i

Fig. Qris a vertical front to` rear sectional L view through the post' shown in jF igure l;` y

Fig.r Sis a horizontal-sectional view taken substantially on the' line 3 3 ofy Figure l lookingV in the direction indicated by the arrows; f e

Fig. et is a horizontal -sectionalfview onthe line 4 4: of Figure l looking inthe direction indicatedgby.tlie`arroivsgi Fig., V5'is aview similar to Figure 3, but taken.. on a plane slightly lower than the plane ofV Figure: and on a largers'cale.

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While the post embodying the invention is designed for universal use, it is illustrated in the drawings as employed primarily for the support of fence wires, the wires being` indicated in the drawings by the reference letter W.

The post comprises a core which is indicated in general by the reference-numeral l and a sheath which is indicated in general by the reference numeral 2. The core 1 is of wood of any kind found suitable for the purpose and, in view of the fact that the core is to be protected by the sheath, in a manner which will presently be made clear, the core may be made from wood of cheaper grade than that employed in the manufacture of all-wood fence posts, thus effecting an econoinyin the manufacture of the posts of the invention. rlhe wood core l is rectangular in'cioss section and of a length corresponding to the height of the fence to be erected, taking into consideration, of course, the portion of the length of the said post which is to be embedded in the ground. Before assembling the core with the sheath, to be present kly described, the core is immersed in orotherwise treated with creosote or some other preservative liquid until impregnated thereby. While the core 1 is illustrated in the drawings as square at its lower end, as well as at its upper end, it will be understood that the lower end of the core might be of tapered or pointed formation to facilitate the anchorage of the post in the ground, if desired, and without departing from the spi 1it of the in vention.

The sheath of the post may be made of cast metal or sheet metal and the said sheath lis of hollow rectangular form and comprises side walls 3, a rear wall 4, and front wall portions 5, the walls 3 occupying planes a right angles to the rear wall Ll, and the front wall portions 5 occupying a plane at right angles to the side walls 3. lnteriorly the sheath is of a width equal to the width or thickness of the core l but preferably of slightly greater dimensions from front to rear than the corresponding dimension of the core, so that while the core is snugly engaged by the inner surfaces of the side walls 3 and rear wall Il, the wallportions 5 at the front of the sheath are slightly spaced with respect to the corresponding face of the core. These wall portions 5 have their margins turned inwardly as indicated by the numeral (l so that the edges of the wall portions snuglyl engage against the front side of the core l as clearly shown in Figures 3, l and 5 ofthe drawings. The inturned edges (l of the front wall portions 5 are somewhat spaced, in practice about one-half an inch, so that a narrow vertical portion of the vfront face of the core 'l is exposed between these edge portions.' In overturning the margins of the front wall portions 5 to form the inturned edges 6, the

metal is bent to rounded or curved form as best shown in Figures 3, l and 5 of the drawings. lt will now be evident that staples, nails or screws may be driven into the core l through the front of the sheath at the prtion thereof bounded by the inturned edges 6 of the front wall portions of the sheath.

As illustrated in Figures l, Q, 3 and 5 of the drawings, the fence wires lV are strung across the face of the post, and staples 7 are disposed in vertical position to straddle the wires and are driven into the core l. In driving the staples into place, the portions of the fence wires engaged by the bights of the staples, will be deflected or bent inwardly so as to extend over the rounded outer surfaces of the inturned edges 6 of the front wall portions 5, the bights of the staples be ing accommodated between the inturned edges as best shown in Figures 3 and 5 of the drawings. Due to the bends formed in the fence wires at the points of engagement of the staples therewith, the fence wires are very securely anchored to the post and longitudinal displacementof the wires is positively prevented. At the same time, due to the rounded cross sectional contour of the ordinary staples and the rounded surfaces of the inturned edges G of the front wall portions 5 of the sheath of the post, the bends formed in the wires will not be so acute as to weaken the wires, nor will the wires be engaged by any sharp edges which would be liable to cut into the wires and cause weakening thereof. inasmuch as the eX- posed portion of the core extends for the entire height of the post, as a whole, it is quite evident that the fence wires may be strung at any desired elevation and that any number of fence wires may be secured to the post. lt is likewise evident that woven wire fencing may be secured to the post embodying the invention by means of staples disposed to straddle the meshes of the wiring.

ln order that the sheath 2 may reinforced so as to prevent any spreading of its sides 3, although this will be unlikely to occur, in any event, due to the fact that the post is anchored at its lower end in the ground and is provided with an encompassing cap member at its upper end, as will be presently explained, reinforcing members indicated in general by the nun'ieral S are employed and each of these members is preferably formed from a length of bar metal bent to provide spaced side portions 9 and an intermediate portion 10, the reinforcing inembers 8 being so proportioned as to adapt them to be fitted snugly to the sheath of the post from the front thereof, with the side members 9 lengaging against the out-er sides of the side walls 3 of the sheath and the int :mediate portion 10 engaging against and extending transversely of the front portions 5 of the said sheath. The intermediate portion of each of the reinforcing members is .formed intermediate lts ends with an opening 11, and a nail or other securing element n 12 is driven through the opening and into the core 1 of the post, the reinforcing member being in this manner securely anchored to the post and in position to bracek the sides ther-eof. n The cap member referred to above is indicated by the numeralr 18 and comprises a top portion 14 and a depending marginal ange 15 which extends about the four sides of the top portion and encompasses the upper end of the sheath Q, the fla-nge 15 serving of course'to snugly 'embrace the walls of the sheath vat the upper end of the sheath and thus reinforce the said walls, and the top member'14 of the cap serving to prevent the entrance of moisture into the sheath through the upper end thereof and to protect the upper end of the core 1 from the elements.A In order that the cap member may be firmly secured in place, the top portion 111 thereof is formed centrally with opening 16, and a nail or other suitable fastening element 1,7 is driven through this opening and into the upper end of the core. Y

As previously stated `the post embodying the invention is not limited to use as a fence post but may likewise be employed in supporting signs or mail boxes or any other articles or objects. f

Inasmuch as the core 1.is not in any way secured kwithin the sheath, it is evident that in the event of rotting of the core, it may be extracted from the sheath and a new core driven into place in thesheath. Therefore the invention contemplates a post which will be exceptionally durable, which is neat 'and attractive in appearance, and which possesses y all of the advantagesy of Wood and metal posts, and none ofthe disadvantages thereof.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. A post comprising a core of wood, and a metal sheath enclosing the cor-e and including wallsembracing the faces of the core, one of said walls comprising spaced wall portions having their relatively ad] acent edges relativ-ely spaced wherebyto expose av portion of the surface of the core7 the said edge portions being transversely rounded.

2. A post comprising a core of wood, and a metal sheath enclosing the core and in- @cluding walls lembracing the faces of the core, kone of said walls comprising spaced Wall' portions having their relatively adjacentedges relatively spaced whereby to exs kand a reinforcement for the sheath having portions to embrace the sidewalls of the sheath and an intermediate portion to extend across the said divided wall.

4.' A post comprising a core of wood. a metal sheath enclosing the sanic and having one wall divided longitudinally to expose a portion of the surface of the core, whereby fastening' elements may be driven into the core through the division of the said wall, and 'a reinforcement for the sheath having portions to embrace the side walls of the sheath and an intermediate portion to extend across the said divided wall,and asecuring element driven through the last men.- tioned portion of the reinforcing member and into the said core.

5. A post comprising acore of wood, a metal sheath enclosing the core and including walls embracing the faces of the core, one of saidvvalls c'omprisingspaced wall portions having their relatively adjacent edges relatively spaced whereby to expose "a portion of the surface of the core, said end portions being curved inwardly throughout their length with their inner margins contacting the adjacent face of the core, the engagement of the said inturned margins with the said face of the core serving to space the said spaced wall portions from the said face of the core and define a. channel of i lappreciable depth bounded by the said edge portions into which channel a portion of a fence wire straddled by a securing staple driven into the core through the channel mayk be distorted to provide a. locking bend in the wire positioned kbetween said edge portions of the spaced wall portions. Y

In testimony whereof I affix my signa# ture. f

ELIAS M. SPARKS. 

